CHAPTER 5

WHAT BOOKS AND BURIALS TELL US

Mary in the library

As the bell rang, the teacher asked the students to follow

d
him, because they were going to the library for the first

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time. When Mary stepped inside, she found that the
library was much larger than their classroom. And there

h
were so many shelves, all full of books. In one corner
was a cupboard filled with large, old volumes. Seeing

T s
her trying to open the cupboard, the teacher said, “That

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cupboard has very special books on different religions.

R
Did you know that we have a set of the Vedas?”

b
What are the Vedas? Mary wondered. Let us find out.

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One of the oldest books in the world

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You may have heard about the Vedas. There are

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four of them – the Rigveda, Samaveda, Yajurveda

r
and Atharvaveda. The oldest Veda is the Rigveda,

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composed about 3500 years ago. The Rigveda
includes more than a thousand hymns, called
sukta or “well-said”. These hymns are in praise

b
of various gods and goddesses. Three gods are
especially important: Agni, the god of fire; Indra,

o
a warrior god; and Soma, a plant from which a

t
special drink was prepared.

t
These hymns were composed by sages (rishis).
Priests taught students to recite and memorise

o
each syllable, word, and sentence, bit by bit, with

n
great care. Most of the hymns were composed,
taught and learnt by men. A few were composed
by women. The Rigveda is in old or Vedic Sanskrit,
which is different from the Sanskrit you learn in
school these days.

43 „
WHAT BOOKS AND
BURIALS TELL US
 Sanskrit and other languages
Sanskrit is part of a family of languages known as Indo-European.
Some Indian languages such as Assamese, Gujarati, Hindi, Kashmiri
and Sindhi, and many European languages such as English, French,
German, Greek, Italian and Spanish belong to this family. They are
called a family because they originally had words in common.

d
Take the words ‘matr’ (Sanskrit), ‘ma’ (Hindi) and ‘mother’ (English).

e
Do you notice any similarities?
Other languages used in the subcontinent belong to different

h
families. For instance, those used in the north-east belong to the

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Tibeto-Burman family; Tamil, Telugu, Kannada and Malayalam belong

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to the Dravidian family; and the languages spoken in Jharkhand and

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parts of central India belong to the Austro-Asiatic family.

b
List the languages you have heard about and try and identify the

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families to which they belong.

C p u
N e
The books we use are written and printed. The

r
Rigveda was recited and heard rather than read.

© e
It was written down several centuries after it was
first composed, and printed less than 200 years
ago.

b How historians study the Rigveda

t o Historians, like archaeologists, find out about the

past, but, in addition to material remains, they

t
examine written sources as well. Let us see how

o
they study the Rigveda.

n
Some of the hymns in the Rigveda are in the
form of dialogues. This is part of one such hymn,
a dialogue between a sage named Vishvamitra,
and two rivers, (Beas and Sutlej) that were
worshipped as goddesses.
Find the rivers on Map 1 (page 2), then read on:
„ 44
OUR PASTS–I
 A page from a
manuscript of the
Rigveda.
This manuscript of the
Rigveda, on birch bark,
was found in Kashmir.
About 150 years ago, it
was used to prepare one
of the earliest printed

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texts of the Rigveda, as

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well as an English
translation. It is now

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preserved in a library in

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Pune, Maharashtra.

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b
Vishvamitra and the Rivers

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Vishvamitra: O rivers, come down from the mountains like two swift horses,

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like two shining cows that lick their calves.

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You move like chariots to the sea, through the power of Indra. You are
full of water and wish to unite with one another.

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The rivers: We, who are full of water, move along the path the gods have

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made for us. Once we start flowing, we cannot be stopped. Why do you

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pray to us, o sage?
Vishvamitra: O sisters, please listen to me, the singer who has come
from a distance with his chariots and carts. Let your waters not rise above

b
our axles, so that we can cross safely.
The rivers: We will listen to your prayers so that you can cross safely.

o
Historians point out that this hymn was composed in the area where these

t
rivers flow. They also suggest that the sage lived in a society where horses
and cows were valued animals. That is why the rivers are compared to

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horses and cows.

o
Do you think chariots were also important? Give reasons for your answer.
Read the verses and find out what are the modes of transport that are

n
mentioned.
Other rivers, especially the Indus and its other tributaries, and the
Sarasvati, are also named in the hymns. The Ganga and Yamuna are
named only once.
Look at Map 1 (page 2) and list 5 rivers that are not mentioned in the
Rigveda.
45 „
WHAT BOOKS AND
BURIALS TELL US
 Cattle, horses and chariots
There are many prayers in the Rigveda for cattle,
children (especially sons), and horses. Horses
were yoked to chariots that were used in battles,
which were fought to capture cattle. Battles were
also fought for land, which was important for
pasture, and for growing hardy crops that ripened

d
quickly, such as barley. Some battles were fought

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for water, and to capture people.

h
Some of the wealth that was obtained was kept
by the leaders, some was given to the priests and

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the rest was distributed amongst the people. Some

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wealth was used for the performance of yajnas or

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sacrifices in which offerings were made into the

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fire. These were meant for gods and goddesses.

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Offerings could include ghee, grain, and in some

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cases, animals.
Most men took part in these wars. There was

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no regular army, but there were assemblies where

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people met and discussed matters of war and

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peace. They also chose leaders, who were often
brave and skilful warriors.

b Words to describe people

o
There are several ways of describing people — in

t
terms of the work they do, the language they
speak, the place they belong to, their family, their

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communities and cultural practices. Let us see

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some of the words used to describe people found

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in the Rigveda.
There are two groups who are described in
terms of their work — the priests, sometimes
called brahmins, who performed various rituals
and the rajas.
These rajas were not like the ones you will be
learning about later. They did not have capital
„ 46 cities, palaces or armies, nor did they collect taxes.
OUR PASTS–I
Generally, sons did not automatically succeed
fathers as rajas.
Read the previous section once more and see
whether you can find out what the rajas did.
Two words were used to describe the people or
the community as a whole. One was the word
jana, which we still use in Hindi and other

d
languages. The other was vish. The word vaishya
comes from vish. You will learn more about this

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in Chapter 6.

h
Several vish or jana are mentioned by name.
So we find reference to the Puru jana or vish, the

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Bharata jana or vish, the Yadu jana or vish, and

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so on.

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Do any of these names sound familiar?

b
Sometimes, the people who composed the

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hymns described themselves as Aryas and called

C
their opponents Dasas or Dasyus. These were

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people who did not perform sacrifices, and

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probably spoke different languages. Later, the

r
term dasa (and the feminine dasi) came to mean

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slave. Slaves were women and men who were often
captured in war. They were treated as the property
of their owners, who could make them do

b
whatever work they wanted.
While the Rigveda was being composed in the

o
north-west of the subcontinent, there were other

t
developments elsewhere. Let us look at some of
these.

o t
Silent sentinels—the story of the megaliths

n
Look at the illustration on the next page.
These stone boulders are known as megaliths
(literally big stones). These were carefully arranged
by people, and were used to mark burial sites. The
practice of erecting megaliths began about
3000 years ago, and was prevalent throughout
the Deccan, south India, in the north-east and 47 „
Kashmir. WHAT BOOKS AND
BURIALS TELL US
 Some important megalithic
sites are shown on Map 2
(page14). While some
megaliths can be seen on the
sur face, other megalithic
burials are often underground.
Sometimes, archaeologists

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find a circle of stone boulders

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or a single large stone
standing on the ground.

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These are the only indications

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that there are burials beneath.

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There were several things

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Top : This type of that people did to make megaliths. We have made

b
megalith is known as a
a list here. Try and arrange them in the correct

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cist. Some cists, like the
order: digging pits in the earth, transporting

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one shown here, have
port-holes which could stones, breaking boulders, placing stones in

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be used as an entrance. position, finding suitable stone, shaping stones,
burying the dead.

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All these burials have some common features.

© e r
Generally, the dead were buried with distinctive
pots, which are called Black and Red Ware. Also
found are tools and weapons of iron and

b
sometimes, skeletons of horses, horse equipment
and ornaments of stone and gold.

o
Was iron used in the Harappan cities?

t t Iron equipment found from megalithic burials.

o
Left top : Horse equipment.
Left below : Axes.

n
Below : A dagger.

„ 48
OUR PASTS–I
Finding out about social differences
Archaeologists think that objects found with a
skeleton probably belonged to the dead person.
Sometimes, more objects are found in one grave
than in another. Find Brahmagiri on Map 2
(page 14). Here, one skeleton was buried with 33
gold beads, 2 stone beads, 4 copper bangles, and

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one conch shell. Other skeletons have only a few

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pots. These finds suggest that there was some
difference in status amongst the people who were

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buried. Some were rich, others poor, some chiefs,

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others followers.

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Were some burial spots meant for certain

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families?

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Sometimes, megaliths contain more than one

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skeleton. These indicate that people, perhaps
belonging to the same family, were buried in the

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same place though not at the same time. The bodies

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of those who died later were brought into the grave

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through the portholes. Stone circles or boulders
placed on the surface probably served as signposts

b
to find the burial site, so that people could return
to the same place whenever they wanted to.

t o
A special burial at Inamgaon
Find Inamgaon on Map 2 (page14). It is a site on

t
the river Ghod, a tributary of the Bhima. It was

o
occupied between 3600 and 2700 years ago. Here,
adults were generally buried in the ground, laid

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out straight, with the head towards the north.
Sometimes burials were within the houses.
Vessels that probably contained food and water
were placed with the dead.
One man was found buried in a large, four
legged clay jar in the courtyard of a five-roomed 49 „
house (one of the largest houses at the site), in WHAT BOOKS AND
BURIALS TELL US
 the centre of the settlement. This house also
had a granary. The body was placed in a cross-
legged position.
Do you think this was the body of a chief?
Give reasons for your answer.

What skeletal studies tell us

d
It is easy to make out the skeleton of a child from its small size. However,

e
there are no major differences in the bones of a girl and a boy.

h
Can we make out whether a skeleton was that of a man or a
woman?

T s
Sometimes, people decide on the basis of what is found with the

li
skeleton. For instance, if a skeleton is found with jewellery, it is

R
sometimes thought to be that of a woman. However, there are

b
problems with this. Often, men also wore ornaments.

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A better way of figuring out the sex of a skeleton is to look at the

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bone structure. The hip or the pelvic area of women is generally

C
larger to enable child bearing.

p
These distinctions are based on modern skeletal studies.

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About 2000 years ago, there was a famous physician named

r
Charaka who wrote a book on medicine known as the Charaka

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Samhita. There he states that the human body has 360 bones. This
is a much larger number than the 200 bones that are recognised in
modern anatomy. Charaka arrived at this figure by counting the

b
teeth, joints and cartilage.
How do you think he found out about the human body in such

o
great detail?

t t Occupations at Inamgaon
Archaeologists have found seeds of wheat, barley,

o
rice, pulses, millets, peas and sesame. Bones of a

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number of animals, many bearing cut marks that
show they may have been used as food, have also
been found. These include cattle, buffalo, goat,
sheep, dog, horse, ass, pig, sambhar, spotted deer,
blackbuck, antelope, hare, and mongoose, besides
birds, crocodile, turtle, crab and fish. There is
„ 50
evidence that fruits such as ber, amla, jamun, dates
OUR PASTS–I
and a variety of berries were collected.
 Use this evidence to list the possible
occupations of the people at Inamgaon.

Elsewhere
Find China in your atlas. Around 3500 years ago,
we find some of the first evidence of writing in China.

d
These writings were on animal bones. These are
called oracle bones, because they were used to

e
predict the future. Kings got scribes to write

h
questions on the bones — would they win battles?
Would the harvest be good? Would they have sons?

T s
The bones were then put into the fire, and they

li
cracked because of the heat. Then fortunetellers

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studied these cracks, and tried to predict the future.

b
As you may expect, they sometimes made mistakes.

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These kings lived in palaces in cities. They

u
amassed vast quantities of wealth, including large,

C
elaborately decorated bronze vessels. However, they

p
did not know the use of iron.

N e
List one difference between the raja of the Rigveda

r
and these kings.

© e Imagine

b
You live in Inamgaon, 3000 years ago, and the chief
has died last night. Today, your parents are preparing KEYWORDS

o
for the burial. Describe the scene, including how food Veda

t
is being prepared for the funeral. What do you think language
would be offered?

t
hymn

o
chariot
sacrifice

n
raja
slave
megalith
burial
skeletal
51 „ iron
 SOME IMPORTANT
Let’s recall
DATES
X Beginning of the 1. Match the columns
composition of the
Sukta Stone boulder
Vedas (about 3500
years ago) Chariots Sacrifice

d
X Beginning of the
Yajna Well-said

e
building of megaliths
(about 3000 years Dasa Used in battles

h
ago)
Megalith Slave

s
Settlement at

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X

i
Inamgaon (between 2. Complete the sentences:

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3600 and 2700 years
(a) Slaves were used for ————————

b
ago)

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X Charaka (about 2000 (b) Megaliths are found in ————————

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years ago) (c) Stone circles or boulders on the surface were

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used to ————————

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(d) Port-holes were used for ————————

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(e) People at Inamgaon ate ————————

© e Let’s discuss

b3. In what ways are the books we read today different

o
from the Rigveda?

t t 4. What kind of evidence from burials do archaeologists

use to find out whether there were social differences

o
amongst those who were buried?

n
5. In what ways do you think that the life of a raja was
different from that of a dasa or dasi?

„ 52
OUR PASTS–I
 Let’s do

6. Find out whether your school library has a collection

of books on religion, and list the names of five books
from this collection.

7. Write down a short poem or song that you have

d
memorised. Did you hear or read the poem or song?

e
How did you learn it by heart?

h
8. In the Rigveda, people were described in terms of the
work they did and the languages they spoke. In the

T is
table below, fill in the names of six people you know,

l
choosing three men and three women. For each of

R
them, mention the work they do and the language

b
they speak. Would you like to add anything else to

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the description?

NAME

C
WORK

p u LANGUAGE ANYTHING ELSE

N r e
© e
b
t o
o t
n
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WHAT BOOKS AND
BURIALS TELL US